When one has a lower leg impairment such as drop foot, activities such as climbing stairs or bending over to tie one's shoes require extreme physical exertion. Other activities such as rehabilitation exercises often require the assistance of others which may delay recovery due to lack of help. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which those who suffer leg and/or knee disabilities can be afforded a means to lift their legs in an assisted manner to overcome the difficulties as described above. The development of the apparatus described herein fulfills this need.
There have been attempts in the past to invent leg rehabilitation devices. U.S. Pat. No. D 368,501 issued to Woodruff discloses a flexible exerciser that appears to comprise a continuous strap with handles on both ends. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed apparatus, nor does it appear to comprise a central receiving portion for the placement of a user's foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,165 issued to Huang discloses a rehabilitation aid that appears to comprise a leg sleeve, an adjusting means connected to a front side of the leg sleeve, a spring connected at an end to the adjusting means, and a foot strap connected to another end of the spring. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a leg rehabilitation device that can be manipulated by a user's hands to assist in movement of the lower leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,217 issued to Crawford et al discloses a foot drop assistance device comprising a leg member and a strap having a first end supportable between the big toe and an adjacent end and a removable attachment mechanism for attaching the second end to the leg member. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a central member portion which is padded and accepts the placement of a user's foot to which are attached straps with loops that may be used to manipulate the device to aid in movement of a user's lower leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,930 issued to Kroke discloses a rehabilitation strap system that appears to comprise an elongate main strap secured at opposing ends forming a loop having a first side and a second side, a pair of upper handles attached to the main strap, a pair of lower handles attached to the main strap, and a plurality of rungs attached between the first side and the second side of the main strap. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a central-receiving portion with a friction resistant surface and comfortable padding for accepting the foot of a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,517 issued to Slinger discloses a foot lift assist that appears to comprise an elastic strap that is attached to a person's belt. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a leg rehabilitation device that comprises a central-receiving portion and a pair of straps that further comprise loops at the ends so that the device may be manipulated by a user via their hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,434 issued to Gibbons discloses a device for relieving leg cramps that appears to comprise a “D”-shaped handle into which a user can place the instep of their foot and a continuous tubular shaft. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a leg rehabilitation device that comprises a central-receiving portion and two (2) attached straps, nor does it appear to be useful for manually assisting in moving one's lower leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,203 issued to Villano discloses a hand-held extensor for assistance with walking and rehabilitation that appears to comprise a foot stirrup assembly, a lower strap attached to the top of foot stirrup assembly and an upper strap with a handle mounted thereon that may be gripped by a user to allow the user to pull upwardly on the handle to raise the foot stirrup assembly. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a padded central-receiving portion with a friction surface, nor does it appear to comprise two (2) straps with loops for handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,437 issued to Olschansky discloses a gluteal and thigh muscle exercise system comprising a longitudinally extended handle member and assembly for engaging a heel portion of a user's foot. A resistive force assembly is coupled on a first end to a central portion of the handle member and on an opposing second end to the heel engagement assembly. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a comfortable central-receiving portion for accepting a user's foot, nor does it appear to disclose a device that would be useful for assisting individuals with impairment of lower leg functions in moving their limbs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,486 issued to Sheeler discloses an exercise strap device comprising a harness with an adjustable flexible, inelastic strap with an adjustable foot loop at one end and a hand grip at the other end. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a leg rehabilitation device that comprises a central-receiving portion and a pair of straps that further comprise loops at the ends so that the device may be manipulated by a user via their hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,565 issued to Burdenko discloses a universal exercise device comprising a belt portion with rings for the attachment of elastic straps which are connected to the hands, legs, and head of the user to use in various exercises based on the application of force required for the stretching of the elastic straps. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a device that is useful for aiding in the movement of a user's lower leg by looped straps which a user can move with their hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,680 issued to Johnston discloses a therapeutic leveraging device comprising a means for grasping a foot, a first female buckle assembly, a second female buckle assembly, a line cord, and ten (10) separate means for guiding the line cord. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a device that comprises a receiving portion for a user's foot that is attached to a pair of looped straps that permits a user to use their hands to assist in the movement of an impaired lower limb.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,589 issued to Wertz discloses a foot support device for improved ambulation comprising a support member adapted to engage a posterior ankle section of the leg and having strap means for providing dorsiflexion and eversion assistance and the strap is attached to predetermined points on a user's shoe. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a device that is useful for aiding in the movement of a user's lower leg by looped straps which a user can move with their hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,447 issued to Deis discloses a drop foot corrective device that comprises a leg band that girdles the leg providing an anchor point for the upper end of a ligament having its lower end attached to a toe of a shoe or a toe on the foot to support the foot and retain the foot in a normal position during walking. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a centrally padded portion that accepts a user's foot that is connected to looped straps for manually assisting a lower limb.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,982 issued to Heaney discloses an orthotic foot assist apparatus that comprises a leg attachment member, an elastomeric support strap, and a latch and loop for attaching the support strap to the wearer's foot. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a device capable of being manually used to manipulate a user's foot during walking and other activities.